For the Love of Education

One such student is Susana Ozaeta, a junior in elementary education in the UMKC School of Education’s Institute for Urban Education (IUE). Earlier this fall, Ozaeta, a recipient of the Sprint Urban Education Scholarship for IUE, shared her story of drive and determination to become a professional educator.

Ozaeta is the daughter of immigrant parents who moved to the United States to provide “their children the opportunity to a life that they wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Ozaeta explained. “I am not sure that they completely knew the extent of what they were doing for our family,” she continued, “but I owe my life to them.”

From an early age, Ozaeta wanted to become a teacher to “show students of all demographics that education will be the one thing of few that they will be able to choose for themselves. Education will provide for them the situations, people and career that only they will be able to choose and be happy with.”

Today, Ozaeta’s own daily struggle in supporting her mother and younger brother provide the motivation for her to continue her education, although without financial support from scholarship donors, that dream—like for so many students—would be impossible.